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Thursday, March 31, 2016

Iamthemorning have been around since their formation back in
2010 in St. Petersburg which consider Marjana Semkina on Vocals and Gleb
Kolyadin on Piano. They have released two albums on the Kscope label including
an EP and a live album. This year they released their third album entitled Lighthouse. The album is engineered by
Marcel Van Limbeek who worked with Tori Amos and self-produced by Gleb and
Marjana. They brought along Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson) on
Drums, Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) on Bass and Vocals, and Mariusz Duda
(Lunatic Soul, Riverside).

The album is a mixture of classical chamber music, folk, and
jazz by adding a wide-ranging texture throughout the entire set. It is also a
concept album about a woman who is suffering from a mental illness as she tries
to fight the disease through a remission and into a final breakdown. Through
the inspirations between Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath, it’s an emotional and
touching story dealing with the subject along with depression.

It was recorded between London, Moscow, and St. Petersburg
and it almost for me feels, like a soundtrack and a movie inside your head of a
one-woman show sung throughout the whole thing which very much in the realms of
Jacques Demy’s 1964 French classic, The
Umbrellas of Cherbourg. You can imagine the woman’s pain and suffering on
what she’s going through her breakdowns and the illness she is suffering from.
As the music itself, it is a spectacular and striking essence of what the duo
brings to the story.

The striking ominous intro of the first part of I Came Before the Water sets a stirring
tone of the character through the reflections of herself with beautiful string
sections, dripping water, and a cry for help as Marjana’s vocals beams through
the pain into the person’s head. Colin’s bass lines on Clear Clearer, has this spirited melody as organ and brushing drums
starts at first with a Jazzier introduction as it moves into both harmonious
rhythms with a lifting section as guitars channeling Robert Fripp at the very
end.

Elsewhere, Sleeping
Pills features a haunting piano section that Gleb channels in the
midsection that the trouble for the person’s tragic soul is only getting worse
as the title track featuring Riverside/Lunatic Soul’s Mariusz Duda takes onto
the vocals in the last three-minutes of the song just gives me chills between
him and Marjana’s duet-ting together, it gives the atmosphere a chilling yet
soaring experience.

It reminded me at times between Steven Wilson and Ninet
Tayeb’s Routine and bits of Hand.Cannot.Erase thrown in at the same
time as Duda and Semkina do a brilliant job together. It just gives me more of
what is on here that just made my eye-brows go up at each track. The lullaby
turned waltz section in the styles of Vince Guaraldi with Harmony and the medium speed tempo with catchy grooves to dance to
with Matches with an homage to
Thelonious Monk and bits of Keith Emerson thrown in.

Chalk and Coal is
a disturbing immense composition. The vocal arrangements, both singing and
speaking in the beginning is someone near the end of their total breakdown.
Marjana just hits those vocals in the park very strongly. There is a darker
tone throughout the midsection with the experimental and heavier elements as
the disease suddenly comes in as the character realizes in the speaking section
as they taunt this person towards their doom with no light at the end of the
tunnel.

I love the Jazzy sections in Gleb heads forwards through his
piano to know what is happening near the end of the story as he plays towards
the end in a fade out as we hear and watch what is about to happen next through
an echoing reverb. The second part of I
Came Before the Water and the finale, Post
Scriptum, is the end with a tragic closing of the character’s choice of
death.

It just sends goosebumps on my arms as you can see the
person going through the final chapter of the book to say goodbye to everything.
The instrumental closer, is a gorgeous piano filled experience and helps to
understand the incredible talent that Iamthemorning shows here, is a gigantic
wonder of amazement that have taken me to another surprise on what they did
next.

I really enjoyed Lighthouse.
It feels like looking at a beautiful painting of Vincent Van Gogh. The
right moment at the right time that you could imagine hitting closer to home
dealing with the subjects of Mental Illness and Depression. The duo themselves nailed
it perfectly with an emotional and stirring concept. And with help from various
band members, it is something worth exploring into their music. A challenging
issue and a tragic storyline, this here is a stirring gem released this year
that the Kscope label have released this year.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

This is a new band hailing from Fresno, California that are
carrying the torch of the Doom Metal genre in the essence of Witchfinder
General, Black Sabbath, and Candlemass. They release their debut album on the
Rise Above Records label this year entitled Lusus
Naturae which translates to “A Freak of Nature.”

I love the art design of the album in which is done by
Branca Studio in which it’s an homage to the great Horror films of the late ‘60s
and early ‘70s in which it’s almost an homage to the Hammer films in the styles
of the booklet. The band considers Trevor William Church on Guitar and Lead
Vocals, John Michael Tucker on Bass, Andres Alejandro Saldate IV (Juan Bonham)
on Drums.

Trevor wrote the 12 compositions on here. And the music
itself is blaring, eruptive, and filled with intense riffs, stoner rock, and in
your face to see what Beastmaker will think of next. This is a must have for
Doom and Occult Rock fans and I love what is on here from right into the
beginning and in the very end. The trio know what they are doing and they are
pulling no punches with the homage to the ‘70s rock sounds.

Fierce and raw power comes into action with Eyes are Watching, The Strain, and Astral Corpse. Both of these tracks have
the intensity and energetic force. And Trevor’s voice resembles a young Ozzy
Osbourne and capturing the Sabbath and Doom genre torch and making sure it
doesn’t burn out. I can hear almost as if they were recorded between 1970 and
1973 from the Paranoid, Master of
Reality, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
sessions.

The trio really head into town as they work as a team.
Loving those metallic bass lines that John Michael Tucker does. He carries the
fuzztone levels through the riffs which is shown on You Must Sin and the homage to Electric Wizard with the Arachne. Trevor carries the rhythm and
lead on here and both lending John and Andres a helping hand. Andres can take
the drums from the styles of Bill Ward and Jan Lindh (Candlemass) to various sections. From mellow grooves to haunting/ominous directions on his kit.

The mid-galloping twist of Skin Crawler, sends me goosebumps and I can imagine the touches of
Black Mountain’s In The Future-era in
there. Trevor and John go into town between Guitar and Bass playing the melody
together as if they were definitely writing scores for the Horror genre in the
styles of Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and Terence Fisher’s The Devil Rides Out.

This is my third time listening to Lusus Naturae. I was completely spellbound the moment I put the CD
on. There’s going to be a few more good releases coming out this year and some
competition to go with it. Beastmaker have landed on earth with a mighty punch
to send the Doom Metal sounds with a vital force! This is a recommended band
worth checking out. And I hope they will continue to see where the road will
lead them into.

Doom Metal and Occult Rock band Blood Ceremony show
absolutely no sign of stopping since their formation ten years ago in their
hometown in Toronto, Canada. With three albums in the can on the Rise Above
Records label, I always imagine what will they think of next with their follow
up. Alia O’Brien is brilliant with her vocals, keyboards and flute playing. And
with her fellow comrades including guitarist Sean Kennedy, bassist Lucas Gadke,
and drummer Michael Carrillo, she knows that she has got their back and never
letting them down.

She’s been very busy as she contributed to a film score with
a 2015 documentary film from Banger Films covering the historical origins of
Satan entitled Satan Lives which is
directed by the same people who did Metal:
A Headbanger’s Journey, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, and Super Duper Alice Cooper. But let’s get
straight to their new album entitled, Lord
of Misrule. The traces of Psych, Folk, Doom, and Prog is still there with
the essence of Jethro Tull meets Black Sabbath meets Fairport Convention.

But thrown in The Electric Prunes, Jefferson Airplane,
Trees, and Forest, Blood Ceremony know their roots very in their cream of the
crop of Prog and Doom. And they know what to get when they shop around for new
songs and carrying the torch is showing how much they have come along and I’m
very blown away here.

The opener, The Devil’s
Widow, is a killer introduction with mid-tempo rhythms, blaring lead guitar
riffs and solo, and drums getting the shuttle making a jump to light speed
before Alia’s flute shows a bit of the essence of Thjis Van Leer. Flower Phantoms is like something
straight out of the first Nuggets compilation as they go into the ‘60s garage
rock-era with a hyper mood to jump into the groove with the VOX-like organ
sounds, guitars heading into a haunting area.

Lorely is Blood
Ceremony’s homage to the late great Harry Nilsson with a touch of British
Psychedelia approach capturing the line busy tone from the Rhodes keyboard
before to a swirling Beatle-sque ascending Mellotron ending. But I also love
their approach of the band doing a waltz. It’s evidential on The Weird of Finistere.

I can imagine both Roxy Music and The Moody Blues working
together on a composition like this as if they recorded this between 1969 and
early 1970. And it’s such a chilling
piece between Alia and Sean together. The double-tracking vocals,
echo-reverbed, laid-back percussion, and lyrics dealing of the last rite of the
character’s dying scenery.

Old Fires sounds
like a chugging yet crunchier roar thanks to Sean’s guitar with it’s pumping
riffs, blaring organs, and dramatic lead section in which he goes straight to
the sky with his improvisation as he plays both at the same time in the
double-tracking section that makes my head bang a bit more. Half Moon Street goes into Doom-Folk-Metal
as if Sabbath had teamed up with Comus to create a grittier version of Song For Comus.

The closing somber, Things
Present, Things Past makes the atmosphere melancholy to give it a look back
on what will happen when we look back on the memories and that remained and
either we fly into the previous chapters of our lives or play the last game to
decide to make that choice either way. Blood Ceremony have scored for me
another home run.

It’s great to see them going into a different direction, but
keeping the Doom and Prog approach and showing that it’s still there and with
the new album, it’s another classic surprise that makes me just jump for more
and here they unleashed it again. Highly recommended.

Friday, March 25, 2016

I have been writing reviews on Progressive Rock for about
eight years since I’ve started Music from the Other Side of the Room. And
there’s not a single stop sign for me. I’ve been a champion of bands from the
different isles alongside from the States and in the UK including, Italy,
Scandinavia, France, and Indonesia to name a few. I’ve always loved the Swedish
Progressive Rock scene with bands/artist such as; International Harvester,
Beardfish, Opeth, Samla Mammas Manna, Turid, Hansson & Karlsson, Anglagard,
and the late great Bo Hansson.

One of the bands that are one of the Heaviest and Proggiest
is Trettioariga Kriget. Formed in the summer of 1970 in Saltsjobaden in which
is in the east of Stockholm it is translated as The Thirty Years War in which
it was between from 1618 to 1648 in Central Europe between the conflict of
Catholics, Political Rivals, and German Protestants in the three countries of
France, Sweden, and Denmark who were opposing the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.

The band recorded their sole self-titled debut album between
May and June of 1974 and was released in September of that year. Listening to
this again, you could tell how much they were ahead of their time and it is at
times heavier, dark, sinister, and just in your face. Most of the time it
sounds like if Rush had recorded their debut in Sweden and give it a real kick
of high voltage that would shake up the city with a big alarm clock waiting to
hit at the right exact moment.

Listening to this album for me, is like that. But with an
eruptive explosion to kick things off with Kaledoniska
Orogenesen. From the volcanic guitars, crescendo drums, and electrifying
bass lines, both Stefan Fredin, Dag Lundquist, and Christer Akerberg head into
town. I can hear the essence of Close to
the Edge-era of Yes between Stefan and Christer as it becomes dynamic at
times before Robert Zima’s spooky vocal arrangements and then the mood changes
into a haunting melodic in the rhythm section.

Roster Fran Minus Till
Plus begins with dooming bass lines, xylophones, and guitar melody that has
a nightmarish essence of the Rock In Opposition format before transforming into
a spacey and spooky atmosphere featuring the Mellotron coming in to give it a
chilling vibration. Fjarilsattityder
brings the combination between Gentle Giant, Gnidrolog, and King Crimson with a
brutal force as Christer and Stefan challenge each other to a sword-like duel
on their instruments and they go nail each other in their lead sections as Dag
helps out to give an epic battle on the drums.

Mina Lojen starts
off a heavy intro before diving into a melodic yet folky-acoustic-electric rhythm
section. Vocalist Robert Zima is at the top of his game to give it a cooling
mesmerizing section before the time signature changes as Stefan is really
giving the Bass a gigantic blast through various sections that really resemble
Geddy Lee and Chris Squire at times. The band give Stefan a chance to free-rein
himself as he shines and giving Christer more of the section for a helping
hand.

Ur Djupen channels
the MKII-era of Deep Purple’s In Rock sessions
while the closer, Handlingens Skugga which
was inspired by Democritus, the Greek philosopher of the 5th century
B.C., gets back into the heavier side and it becomes a chaotic adventure as
they head into the crunching mode.

There are three bonus tracks in which the album was reissued
on the Mellotronen label thirteen years ago. Under the Pendent Roof in which it’s the first version for Ur Djupen is an eruptive guitar knockout
by Crister himself. He channels both Ritchie Blackmore and Tony Iommi in the
lead section that is jaw-dropping as he goes through both the lead and rhythm
sections and it carries the twist between Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Judas
Priest.

I’ve Got No Time starts
with a ballad and you can almost imagine that Trettioariga Kriget show their
softer side as Perspektiv in which it
was the first song that Stefan wrote and the band worked and rehearsed in 1970.
It was originally known as Amassilations which
appeared on the Glorious War album
which were recordings between 1970 and ’71 when the band was starting. It is a
great unearthed gem as the band go into their improvisations that inventive and
hypnotic.

This is one of these albums that I get a kick out of
everytime I want to play this at maximum volume. The album did receive well in
the music press as it was considered the first Swedish Heavy Rock LP. They were ahead of their time. They would later
go back into the studio for a follow up which would be Krigssang (War Song) in which it was their second album.

But if you love the heavy rock sounds of Sabbath, Deep
Purple, and Rush followed by the Prog touches of Gentle Giant, Yes, and King
Crimson, then Trettioariga Kriget’s sole self-titled debut is the album worth
exploring into. And play this very loud!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Sam Coulson, guitarist for ASIA, has released his first solo
album in which it’s his take of classical music done in an instrumental format
entitled Electric Classical in which
he self-released it last year. There are ten tracks on here that clock in at 24
minutes and 05 seconds and there aren’t any guitar shredding and powerful
riffs, it’s Sam showing a beautiful and gentle side of his love of the genre
from the realms of Beethoven, Bach, Anon, and Tarrega to name a few.

He started sharing videos nine years ago on YouTube of
playing Guitar from the realms of covers and classical interpretations. And it
caught the eye of Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, Racer X) as he brought him to be a
guest instructor at the Great Guitar Escape in which Gilbert himself created
back in 2012.

It soon got Coulson to fill in the place of Steve Howe after
he departed with ASIA as he released Gravitas
two years ago on the Frontiers label and I hope he’ll do more with them for
years to come. Now onto his debut album. I have to admit, I wasn’t aware of
Coulson’s music until I saw his videos and just being blown away of his
interpretations and he brought a lot of amazement to me of his videos on his
YouTube channel.

With the release of his solo debut, I was impressed that it
showed he’s got lot of potential in his virtuosity. Both clean and hard, he
nails these pieces of music that proves he isn’t showing off, but nailing it
down top to bottom. The tracks clock in between, 2, 3, 4, and 1-minute long and
it’s very laid-back, beautiful, uplifting, and very strong in which he brings it
to the dining room table.

It is now my fourth time listening to Electric Classical. And even though I was very new to Sam's music,
it is a beautiful and short debut album for him and I hope for the second album
he continues to do more. Maybe some longer pieces in the future as I hope he
will do challenging pieces from Stravinsky, Mussorgsky, and Alban Berg to name
a few.

.

All in all, it’s a welcoming debut for him and along with
his work with ASIA. And I imagine Paul Gilbert has done one amazing job and being very proud of giving the shining light
for Sam Coulson.

This here for me is one of those unexpected debut albums
that had my ears glowing brightly on earphones waiting for something unexpected
and out of this world. And that band who carry the essences of Psychedelic
Music, Garage Rock, and the Canterbury scene in the history of Progressive Rock
is a trio called, The Winstons. They are from Milan, Italy and when I’ve
listened to one of their samples and being in awe of the artwork done by
Japanese artist Gun Kawamura, I knew I had to buy this album straight away.

And right from the moment I put the CD on, I was sent on a journey that
almost made me feel as if they recorded this back in the golden-era of the
Progressive Rock scene. They carry the essence of the Syd Barrett-era of Pink
Floyd, The Doors, Caravan, Soft Machine, Arzachel, and Jennifer Gentle. The trio
considers under the fictional names of Linnon, Rob, and Enro Winston. But they
are in real life; Enrico Gabrielli on Keyboards, Alto Sax, Bass Clarinet, and
Lead Vocals (Calibro 35, Mariposa, and Der Maurer), Roberto Dell’Era
(Afterhours) on Bass Guitar, and Lino Gitto on Drums.

It is this blasting and hypnotic debut in which the trio
just goes into town with an Avant-Psych-Prog Canterbury approach that just send
shivers and arm hairs going up at the exact momentum. The instrumental Viaggio Nei Suono A Tre Dimensioni is
set into hyper-space rock featuring thunderous fuzztone bass lines, VOX
organ-lines, and driven tempo drums setting the course into the Milky Way that
screams early Floyd and Hawkwind.

She’s My Face does
remind me of the late great Ray Manzarek’s keyboard playing in which Enrico
does to pay tribute to the legend who brought The Doors sound and resembling
the Strange Days-era while Nicotine Freak sees The Winstons paying
homage to the Canterbury backing vocal arrangers of The Northettes before
delving into a Psychedelic voyage into the Outer Limits that you can imagine
this being performed in the swinging ‘60s at the 14-hour Technicolor Dream that
would send you on a trip like never before.

The ¾ Jazz-Psych Rock blasts more into the adventures of the
trio’s music as they sing in Japan in which Kawamura himself wrote the lyrics
for on Diprotodon. As both Gabrielli
and Dell’Era share vocals with each other as they channel the early Soft
Machine sound and Mike Rateledge’s blaring fuzz Organ that gives it a shrieking
and melodic groove before the Saxes come in and then back into the Waltz that
you can delve into.

Play with the Rebels channels
the ascending momentum of a Beatle-sque ballad as they delve more into the
early Pink Floyd again with a crossovers between A Saucerful of Secrets meets the Ummagumma sessions for …On a
Dark Cloud. It’s a beautiful homage to Richard Wright and David Gilmour’s
playing at the time he joined the band in 1968. There’s this film-score quality
that I like about this as if they were doing a score for one of my favorite
filmmakers in the surreal world of Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Some will love or hate The Winstons music. For me, I adore
it from I put it on my Portable CD player.
This isn’t your typical Prog-Rock band, this is a band and project that
I hope the trio will continue to do more in the near future to see what lies
ahead in the years to come. AMS Records released their sole self-titled debut
this year and I welcome it with open arms.

So if you love the Psychedelic Jazz Rock, Canterbury Prog,
and the hidden treasures what they bring to the kitchen table, then be prepare
to delve into the music of The Winstons. This is an album that might be played
loud and turn it up at the right moment for an amazing psychedelic avant-garde
adventure that you will experience.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Ten years ago Giancarlo Trotta and Luca Contegiacomo have
come from backgrounds between Metal and Classical Music from the Southern
Italian state, Salerno. They created this project called Magni Animi Viri and
released a Classical Metal Opera entitled Heroes
Temporis. It received positive critical reception from Italy and abroad the
world. Now in 2016, the duo have returned re-release the album again in an
English edition with two international stars both in the Symphonic and
Progressive Metal community.

Featuring Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob, Star
One), and Amanda Somerville (Trillum, After Forever, Avantasia). And with Clive
Riche doing the narration. Alongside the three, there is the Bulgarian Symphony
Orchestra, John Macaluso on Drums, the late bassist Randy Coven, and guitarist
Marco Sgogli (Creation’s End, James LaBrie, Project Damage Control, Jordan
Rudess) who takes over the great Franco Mussida of PFM.

With the release of the album, it also features to go into a
charitable aim to help donate a ward for dedication to autism children for a
clinic in Italy in which to finance an opening of a "game-and-diagnosis" at the MerClin ward in Campagna, province of Salmero. Now onto the story. It's about a Man’s journey
towards understanding redemption through the attention that the reality that
he’s living in, is nothing more but a dream. And the music itself, being a fan
of both Symphonic and bits of Prog Metal thrown in, it is for me, an epic
spiritual journey to find out who you really are.

From the moment I put the CD on, I was taken to an open door
to a world of peace and hope that all heroes will be joined as one. And the
music itself nails it perfectly. I have to admit I got a little teary eyed from
the music that Trotta and Contegiacomo brought here in their arranging and
composition format of the story and orchestral metal that blend well.

For me, I’ve been a huge Amanda Somerville fan since hearing
her work in her orientated project entitled Trillium back in 2012 with the
release of Alloy that I bought from
The Laser’s Edge website. And I was just completely blown away of her vocal
arrangements in the melodic format and for me, she can sing very well.

Both she and Russell handle the duets as if working together
as a team. The evidence is there on songs including the Thrash turned ascending
Symphonic yet beautiful Thoughts. I
love how the guitar goes through these various section between power riffs,
leads, and rhythm as drums lend a mid-fast tempo beat before choirs kick in the
door open and I get a feeling it will become a fan favorite and yet a
sing-along song classic.

The acoustic ¾ waltz time signature to dance to with an emotional
strong and powerful lush on Moon Peace while
Intus + Until captures your heart
with an embracing moment as Somerville’s vocal arrangements that resembles the
styles of Within Temptation’s early days from the Mother Earth sessions and not to mention Trillium’s Alloy which I could imagine it could
have been used as a bonus track.

Both Temporis and Heroes captures the styles of Luca
Turilli’s Rhapsody’s Ascending to
Infinity. I love the classical boundaries thrown in between classical
guitar, harpsichord, and the Sinfionetta’s by giving Russell’s voice which
carries a resemblance to Alessandro Conti. It’s not that he brings passion
through his vocals, but at times calmer and ascending positions on his vocals that
had my eyebrows go up.

This is my tenth time listening to Heroes Temporis (World Edition). It’s a strong, powerful, and
poignant album from start to finish. And I have to give this project a huge
amount of credit for helping donating on autism awareness for children and
music itself is a healing process. If you love Symphonic, Power, and
Progressive Metal from the realms of Within Temptation, Ayreon, Nightwish,
Dotma, and of course, Luca Turilli, then delve into Magni Animi Viri’s Heroes Temporis.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Mothertongue are a six-piece band from Manchester that have
this strange combination between the genres of Prog, Punk, Ska, Spaghetti
Western music, Pop, Indie, and Ska. And with the essences of MoeTar, Cardiacs,
Madness, The Blue Ship, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Oingo Boingo, and Mansun to
name a few, it’s a twisted, but amazing combination that just the back of my
arm hairs go up. This year, they have released their debut album from Bad
Elephant Music entitled, Unsongs.

This is a knockout for me the moment I put my headphones and
listened to the whole thing from start to finish. There’s a theatrical and art
side to Mothertongue’s music whilst adding the sense of humor into their music.
I can imagine they were having a blast recording the whole album and knowing
something surreal and magical was happening for the sextet. And with seven
centerpieces in hand, I know this is a band I will check for years and years to
come.

And I hope they will get the Prog-Pop machine rolling in. And for me, they have. Songs like
the opener, King of the Tyrant Lizards
has a thumping intro featuring a ‘60s rockin’ explosion in the styles of
Schizoid Lloyd meets Oingo Boingo, but with a Punk-Mariachi-Ska twist that
makes it fun and dramatic melodies flowing in that feels a touch of Dead Man’s Party to get into the dance
floor.

A Poem That the Sky
Wrote features ascending melodies with punching grooves featuring a Waltz
in the beginning along with funk-chugging guitars and vocals reminiscent of Tim
Smith while Shango gives a tribute to
the late great composer of Elmer Bernstein’s score of The Magnificent Seven between heartbeat percussion’s and horn
sections to capture the Western films that makes the song thunderous and very catchy.

Sidescroller has
this ‘80s essence of the Video Game scores as if Mothertongue could have done
work in the height of the Nintendo-era as if working with Devo for their Oh No! It’s Devo-era on the third
installment for the Mega Man series. Meanwhile, Funeral Song for the Icarus Worm features this gentle classical
guitar and accordion with a darker-mourning piece before ending in a Vienna
style twist as it segues into Blooper’s
Theme.

I get a feel of something straight out of MoeTar’s Entropy of the Century with an ascending
epic vibe and the vocals hitting those notes very well as lead guitar sections
throws in a touch of Queen’s Brian May and having different time signatures
into the mix. Nautilus begins with a
clean Jazz melody opener before transforming into a different rhythm.

Voices going in various directions a-la Gentle Giant style
followed by a dramatic section, more of the thumping rhythms with a galloping
momentum and almost having a sing-along anthem with more of the humor thrown
in.And I got to admit, this made my
jaw-dropped not just because it’s a great song, but the different time changes
in the compositions, makes me want to hear more and more of the band’s music.

I have enjoyed listening to Unsongs about nine times now. And Mothertongue as I’ve mentioned before in my introduction, a band that I will
check out for years to come to see what kind of magic tricks they have underneath
the Top Hat. Bad Elephant Music have never disappointed me and I hope to hear
more of Mothertongue’s music and I recommend exploring their debut album, Unsongs.

Monday, March 14, 2016

When the books of Titus Groan and Gormenghast
were released in 1946 and 1950 by Mervyn Peake, they were introduced to a
character who was the lover of Steerpike, and the daughter and first child of
Sepulchrave, 76th Earl of Groan, and his countess, she also was
considered a gauche in the movement and in sense, with an ugly of face, but how
small twists that her mouth was sullen and rich with her eyes smouldered.

Her name was Fuchsia Groan. That and the name of the
six-piece band, which is taken from Peake’s novels, were formed in Exeter
University in 1970 by singer-songwriter Tony Durant. Alongside Tony Durant who
both plays both Acoustic and Electric Guitar and does lead vocals, they
consider; Michael Day on Bass, Michael Gregory on Drums and Percussion, Janet
Rogers on Violin and Backing Vocals, Madeleine Bland on Cello, Piano,
Harmonium, and Backing Vocals, and Vanessa Hall-Smith on Violin and Backing
Vocals.

They released their only sole self-titled debut album
originally on the short-lived record label, Pegasus in November of 1971, and
it’s for me, in my opinion, one of the most amazing, unsung, obscure, and
buried treasure gems of lost albums that is deserving recognition thanks to
Gianpaulo Banelli who 13 years ago who reissued it on his label, Night Wings Records back in 2003. Last year, Esoteric Recordings have reissued the album and it
is still a powerful cult classic Acid/Prog-Folk album that is up there with
Comus, Trees, Spriguns, Mellow Candle, and Spriogyra.

Tony Durant’s vocals resembles Kaleidoscope/Fairfield
Parlour’s Peter Daltrey’s arrangements and he nails those changes in the vocals
very well. When I heard that Esoteric was going to reissue this, let’s just say
that I jump in the swimming pool and reach the lap and bought this from the
Kinesis website and I was very impressed from the moment I put the CD on in my
Portable CD player.

Songs like the galloping yet thunderous haunting
introduction for the Gone with the Mouse.
There’s a bit of almost as if Jim Croce had written the continuation of Peake’s
stories with a driven beat. I love the eruptive and mellowing rhythm section
between guitars and string sections as if they were adding the drama and
tension. Lyrics have almost a renaissance-era, but it’s an excellent way to
start the album off with a big bang!

The Nothing Song
has a sinister ominous crescendo between drum fills, violin, and rhythm guitar
introduction as if something terrible had gone wrong, before delving into a
militant rhythm section. It’s very catchy at times and almost a split
personality in the composition, but it works very well different signature when
it transforms into memorable and disturbing at the same time and not to mention
a folk-pop tradition in there.

Meanwhile, Another
Nail starts off with the first 3-minutes with the music going into a
journey into outer space before delving into the Syd Barrett-era of Pink Floyd
as they channel the Crazy Diamond’s lyrics that resemble at times Astronomy Domine and almost if
championing Barrett himself before going into a shuffling train rockin’
adventure. You could hear the essence of The
Piper at the Gates of Dawn thrown in the music and it’s another knockout.

The mourning and resembling childhood years with a touch of
Harry Nilsson and early Bowie’s psych-folk touches with the string section will
touch your heart on Me and My Kite. This
is for me, one of the albums that I will cherish for many, many years. After
the album was released, and received a little attention thanks to the advert on
Melody Maker, the band broke up and went on to do other projects.

Now, since reforming with a new line-up few years ago, the
band’s music is still going strong and with recognitions thanks to the Internet
and the word-of-mouth about this album, it is finally getting the light at the
end of the tunnel it deserves. It features
the lyrics, a 16-page booklet with liner notes done by John O’Regan, including
the artwork done by Anne Marie Anderson’s design of Fuchsia Groan’s mystique
and allure, makes it beautiful and stirring. All in all, this is again the unsung obscure Acid Folk gem of 1971.

And the band themselves are still continuing to bring more
of the psych-acid folk adventures to bring more complete, eccentric ideas for
songs in a strange, but beautiful complexes brainstorming ideas on where Tony
Durant would come up with next. This is a must have if you love the Acid Folk
and Psych-Prog Folk adventures of Comus, Trees, Spirogyra, and Spriguns.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Mind you, I’m new to bands who have been around since the
‘70s and one of them was The Muffins. I first became aware of their music when
they were mentioned in both of Jose Zegarra Holder and Adele Schmidt’s Romantic
Warriors series on Rock In Opposition and the Canterbury scene. The band
launched back 43 years ago in Washington D.C. and released four albums before
calling it a day in the early ‘80s. They have an influence of; Canterbury Prog,
Rock In Opposition, and Jazz.

So it’s a perfect combination to get your socks off and head
into the dance floor. The band have moved on to different projects including
Muffins own Keyboardist and Saxophonist Dave Newhouse. Taken from their debut
album, the Blue Dogs idea was
originally going to be the next Muffins album, but due to disagreements and the
things that weren’t blending in, Newhouse himself decided to take the project
on a separate album.

There are three quarters from the Muffins including Dave
himself, Paul Sears on Drums, and Billy Swann on Bass. Also alongside the three
members of the Muffins are; George Newhouse (Dave’s son) on Drums, Mark Stanley
on Guitar, and Steve Pastena on French Horn. Recorded and mixed by Mike Potter
at Orion Studios in Baltimore, in which its been home for the Progressive Rock
venues and engineered by Dave himself at Abin Sur Studios in New Market, Maryland,
it is a treat of what could have been the next Muffins album. Here is Dave’s
treasure that is now a gem fully opened to hear and listen.

Opener, Canterbury
Bells starts off with a tribute to the scene that inspired the Muffins
music with elements between Hatfield and the North, Caravan, and early Soft
Machine. You can hear the fuzz tone organs, woodwind instruments, mid-tempo
drum section, and piano going in between lead and rhythm that makes us to go
back and time and go through the albums discovering more of the Canterbury-era
and why they were ahead of their time.

Duke Street is a
tribute to the late great Duke Ellington. Newhouse plays in a mid-tempo style
of the 1930s with a swing feel as the piano goes into different areas in the beginning
in the left, center, and right in front. It has a catchy rhythm snapping-finger
quality to it as you can imagine the Zoot Suit-era’s getting on the dance floor
and nailing it down to the beat of the sound. Now Muffin Man Redux I really enjoy.

I love Dave’s homage to the Northettes on the Woodwinds that
reminded me of Egg’s The Civil Surface-era
before heading into walking extreme double bass lines done by Billy Swann as
Mark Stanley does his homage to Zappa on his guitar to capture the virtuosic exhilaration’s
of the Grand Wazoo himself. There are unexpected time changes throughout the
whole section as if Egg had teamed up with Charles Mingus and it’s a real
kicker.

The haunting Blind Eye
goes into the haunting Avant-Rock and Zeuhl territory that sends shivers down
the spine. There’s a bit of Rock In Opposition movement thrown in between
Magma, Manfred Mann Chapter Three, King Crimson, Art Zoyd, and Univers Zero. It
sends shivers down the spine between the shrieking horn solo that Newhouse
channels David Jackson of Van Der Graaf Generator for a couple of seconds while
the 1950s and early ‘60s walk into the streets of Paris at midnight makes it a
chilling and moving walk into the beauty of France to be Lost in a Photograph.

Newhouse goes into the pictures of Dexter Gordon and John
Coltrane as he plays the sax as if he is walking and entering in the Eiffel
tower to hit those notes as the band follows him up into the top of the city to
give a beautiful good night’s rest that makes it a beautiful composition. Then
back into Swing town with Shwang Time.

It’s time travelling back into the sounds of Benny Goodman,
Glenn Miller, and Gene Krupa. And man, this is another favorite of mine. I love
where Newhouse and the team get more down to business and the Swinging Jazz
sounds between the 1930s and ‘40s, it has some catchy grooves and hitting those
dance floors again.

I always wonder this composition could have been used for
one of either the Betty Boop cartoons, Ren and Stimpy, or the Robert
Clampett-era’s of the Warner Brothers cartoons with this track and it works
well. Not to mention Steve Pastena’s chance to shine on the French Horn. Finale
of the Rovian Cue, it has a glowing
and shining element between the Piano and Horn Section followed by the Flute
section and relaxes to close the curtain down.

This is now my fourth time listening to Blue Dogs. And with an incredible artwork done by Gonzalo Fuentes, this is more of the Jazz I’ve been waiting for a
long, long time now. I might delve into The Muffins catalog sometime either
this year or next year.

But for now, Dave Newhouse and his team have done an
incredible job of bringing more of the today’s Jazz into the light at the end
of the tunnel. I hope they will do more for the next years to come. If you love
Prog, Jazz, Avant-Rock, and ‘40s Swing Music, then delve into Manna/Mirage’s Blue Dogs.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Ella Fitzgerald said that “Music is the universal language.
It brings us closer together.” That’s what music great. It can be your best
friend, your companion, and to play it. That and Beledo’s debut from MoonJune Records
entitled, Dreamland Mechanism which
is released this year. The album is a star-studded album that features people
like Dewa Budjana, Gary Husband (Soft Machine Legacy, Quincy Jones, Gary
Moore), Lincoln Goines (Dizzy Gillespie, The Avengers, Sonny Rollins, and
Elaine Elias), and Rudy Zulkarnaen to name a few.

Beledo himself is a multi-instrumentalist who doesn’t just
plays guitar, but plays; piano, keyboards, violin, and accordion. The album
itself is a combination between World Music, Prog, Flamenco, and Jazz Fusion.
So prepare yourself for a journey from the man himself as he takes you into
different worlds that again makes Music, a universal language.

Pieces like Marilyn’s
Escapade which is dedicated to his late friend, Marilyn Rubine,
who passed away a few years ago. It showcases Beledo’s inspirations of his own
Piano Concerto between the styles of Vince Guaraldi, George Gershwin, and Keith
Emerson. It is a smooth, melodic, and voyage journey featuring a beautiful
finale between the Accordion and the Violin. Then there’s Lucila. With a composition between the musical sounds of both
Indonesia and Flamenco genre. It’s a strange twist, but it works generally well
with an electrical voltage.

Beledo transforms himself into Ottmar Liebert and his
classical guitar carries the Tango and eclectic dances as both Cucu Kurnia and
Endang Ramdan who both play the Sundanese Kendang Percussion on the track, you
could imagine the joy recording the track as Beledo is smiling and having a
great time working with the two together as if they were making magic.

Then on the other three tracks, the trio between him, bassist
Lincoln Goines, and drummer Gary Husband is almost as if they had done a
session in a smaller studio between all three. On Big Brother Calling they do this reminiscent of Stanley Clarke’s School Days-era meets Rush’s Moving Pictures-era as there if is a
Alex Lifeson channeling momentum as if it sounds like a mid-tempo version of YYZ.

However on Sudden
Voyage, Beledo brings the techniques to an exquisite adventure with his
guitar solo while Mercury in Retrograde
is a revolutionary composition as he captures the vision of the 22nd
century. But the real kick is Budjanaji.
Here, Beledo and Dewa create more magic in a gentle relax atmospheric
composition. And the two of them work well as a team and they blend creating
mysterious conceptual improvisations as partners.

MoonJune Records again, never disappoints me. Beledo’s Dreamland Mechanism is a superlative
feature. I can’t wait to hear more of what Beledo will do next of his
virtuosity and powerful imagination that is brilliant and spectacular. So be
prepare to enjoy the sounds of World Music, Jazz Fusion, and Progressive Rock
and exploring the musical language adventure of Dreamland
Mechanism.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

By now you’re probably aware of my support of Prog Rock Deep
Cuts with Ian Beabout which airs every Sunday evening at 6:00pm (5:00pm CST) on
the House of Prog website. Back a few years ago, I was completely blown away by
a band called Discipline on his radio show. It was almost like an American version of Van Der
Graaf Generator and I went ahead and bought both To Shatter All Accord and Unfolded
Like Staircase with my Birthday/Hanukkah money. And I fell in love with
them and I hope to get a few more.

Matthew Parmenter is for me, one of the most mind-blowing,
theatrical, and hypnotic artists who holds the train rolling for Discipline. He
is also a solo artist in which he released two solo albums on the Strung Out
Record label. This year, the record label, Bad Elephant Music, home to bands
like Trojan Horse, The Fierce and the Dead, Shineback, Tom Slatter, and Keyboardist/Guitarist Emmett
Elvin (Knifeworld, Chrome Hoof, Guapo), signed Matthew to the label and it’s a perfect combination
to be a part of the Bad Elephant family.

His third album entitled, All Our Yesterdays is named after the fifth Act in William
Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. It is
a stunning and heartfelt album in which Matthew plays all the instruments and
he brought Discipline drummer Paul Dzendel on four tracks. Rush and Klaatu’s
producer, Terry Brown, also mixes the album. And once you add him to the mix,
you know something interesting is about to happen, but it is for me, a perfect
collaboration.

Matthew is like a brilliant actor who nails it down the line
and almost doing a one-man rock opera of an insane king who’s gone into an
asylum and is telling the audience what has happened to him and why he’s lost
and can’t find anyone to help him out. It’s almost like the tragic hero who
locked in eternity forever that is emotional and stirring.

Stuff in the Bag
is a very catchy melody. It’s upbeat tempo with piano hooks, and lyrical
touches to the great Randy Newman, it’s paying nod to the legend with an ‘80s
vibe as if he wrote one of his songs for a John Hughes film of the Brat
Pack-era.The spooky intro Scheherazade, starts with ghostly
vocalizations that just send chills on my arm hair going up at the right exact
moment.

It tells the story about The cuckold king and him eyeing it’s
prey like a madman and seeing what she’ll do next for the King’s diversion
while Danse du Ventre has these
Robert Fripp-sque guitar melodies that could have been used in Goblin’s Suspiria with haunting piano and
percussion instrumental background realization for a gothic-prog like touch.

Both All for Nothing and
the title-track, including the one having the essence of Camille Saint-Saens
homage of the Danse Macabre as if
Jack Skellington was singing the continuation of Peter Hammill’s A Louse is not a Home as the other
piece, feels almost like a operatic rock take of the 1973 horror classic, The Exorcist as if the two priests are
in disbelief on what has happened to the little girl and what to do now. The
closer, Hey at the Dance is almost
the last rite to give one final dance and who we are and what we will do before
ending in a shuffling blues rock finale.

This is my fourth and fifth time listening to All Our Yesterdays. Matthew Parmenter
shows no sign of stopping. And I hope he does more with his solo work and with Discipline. I’ve mentioned a few years ago he’s the
combination of Peter Hammill and Alice Cooper. And thrown in the essence of the
late great David Bowie, he has a lot of charisma in his body and soul. It may
not be your cup of coffee, but his third album is a cornerstone that is dark,
beauty, gothic, fun, and sadness.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Since I’ve started this blog back eight years ago while I
was still in College working on my degree in Jazz Studies whilst champion the
old and new Progressive Rock bands and artists, I’ve always knew that my ear
was waiting for something special to happen. That and the music of Sanguine Hum.
Since hearing their debut album, Diving
Bell released six years ago, I’ve always wanted to hear what they have in
store for me.

They have released so far three albums including a live
performance they did at the Majestic Theater in Gettysburg at Rosfest (Rite of
Spring Festival) back in May of 2012, it’s almost like unexpected surprises
they have in store whenever they release something spectacular for me in my
opinion. This year, they released their lost album on the Esoteric Antenna on a
2-CD set entitled, What We Ask Is Where
We Begin: The Songs for Days Sessions.

They released the Songs
for Days album under the name, Joff Winks Band ten years ago. And you can
imagine the band hated that name including Joff himself! What happened was when
the album was released, it never got any fanfare without any light at the end
of the tunnel until back in the summer of 2007 when it was released as a
download and then disappeared. What it is, it is Sanguine Hum’s lost debut
album, and it is a real treat.

Among supporters in the liner notes including Ian Fairholm
who runs Eppyfest and runs his own podcast series entitled the Eppy Gibson
podcast and snooker legend Steve Davis who runs with Kavus Torabi (Knifeworld,
Cardiacs, and Guapo) of The Interesting Alternative Show on Phoenix FM in the
UK, it’s an ear-listening and eye-opening experience of the unreleased gem that
is finally getting the recognition and fanfare it deserves years ago. And the
moment I put the CDs on, it was almost as if I was walking on water like Peter
Sellers character, Chance in the 1979 film classic, Being There.

I was very proud and excited when this album came out on the
Esoteric Antenna label. And there are a few highlights on the 2-CD set that
made me want to keep playing this album forever and ever. Before We Bow Down deals with about growing up and being mature to
trust on your own. Drummer Paul Mallyon does clicking intro on the percussion before
doing an arpeggiated section with the hi-hats as Baber and Waissman creates
these moody improve to help out on the Electric Piano and Bass lines.

And with the line “What
We Ask Is Where We Begin.” It’s a reminder where do we go from here and how
we have to confidence and taking responsibility. The homage to the Mahavishnu
Orchestra’s Inner Mounting Flame-era
gets a real kicking eruptive yet melodic rocking experience changing the story
of the boy’s life on there must be something else to delve into real good music
in the record shop for Milo. The
disturbing alternative-rock acoustic train ride of a boy and behaving like a
terrorist, gives it a chilling scenario for the Ace Train.

The inspiration between the Ziggy Stardust-era of David Bowie and Dark Side of the Moon-era of Pink Floyd, blend in very well
together with a Prog-Glam-pop ascending new mixing of the bonus track of New Streets while the spacey synths,
organ, and acoustic guitar set a voyage for the Apple Pie. Then, they take a Metal approach inspired by the sounds
of Porcupine Tree which is unexpected, but eye-browing lift up moment for me of
Double with a Gentle Giant and Yes
approach into the blender for another spacey voyage.

But I love their take of Steely Dan’s Here at the Western World which was one of their lost tracks that
appeared on some of the compilations. Sanguine Hum stay true to Fagen and
Becker’s vision and it’s a beautiful cover that would have make them appreciate
the unreleased track and give a stamp of approval with the Jazz Rock ballad and
nailing right to the core of the duo.

Esoteric have again more home runs for me and the lost album
of Sanguine Hum’s Songs for Days is a
buried treasure that is releasing its light at the end of the tunnel momentum.
The 2-CD set which features a 20-page booklet which talks about the songs,
pictures of the sessions, and a history of the album itself. If you love the
band’s music, I would highly recommend What
We Ask Is Where We Begin.

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About Me

I'm a blogger/freelance writer from Houston, TX who writes album reviews because I enjoy it. Even though, I'm not the best writer, there is no stop sign for me. I have a love of Progressive Rock music, Jazz Fusion, and Early Heavy Metal music from the '60s to the early '80s. I went to HCC (Houston Community College) for nine years and have completed my degree in Music in Performance: Jazz Studies. I've been writing Progressive Rock and Symphonic Metal reviews starting back in 2008 on my blogsite and it never gets old.